A pair of Paris porcelain plaques with still-lives
A pair of Empire Paris porcelain plaques
depicting still-lives, Lefebvre Factory, dated 1803 and 1804
In original gilt bronze frames
One signed and dated bottom right Le Bel. 1803
The other signed and dated bottom right Le Bel Pinxit 1804
One with factory mark Manuf.re de Porcelaine du C.en Lefebvre au pont aux choux
The other with factory mark Manuf.re du C.en Lefebvre à Paris rue Amelot No 9
Almost certainly Nicolas Antoine Florentin Le Bel (active at Sèvres 1804-1844)
Height: 26 cm. (10 ¼ in.) Width: 37 cm. (14 ½ in.)
Formerly known as the Duc d’Orléans’ Factory, the Manufacture C. Lefebvre was located at the beginning of the 19th century at 9 rue Amelot, opposite the Pont aux Choux. Owned by Toussaint Caron, it was run by Jacques Lefebvre, who joined as a partner in 1806. The factory produced beautifully painted and gilded porcelain as well as exceptional un-decorated wares. Unable to repay a government loan in 1812, Lefebvre delivered several pairs of large vases to the Garde-Meuble Impérial, today at the Palace of Versailles and the Grand Trianon.
Many of the greatest porcelain painters of the day worked for him, such as Piat Joseph Sauvage, Jacques François Swebach and Nicolas Antoine Florentin Le Bel. Le Bel was a landscape painter at Sèvres at the time. However, like his colleague Marie-Victoire Jaquotot, the famous figure painter, he must have freelanced for Parisian factories as well. These signed and dated plaques are an important record of his activity outside of Sevres and a further indication of the high-quality work from the Lefebvre factory.
Bernard Dragesco